


Still Adrift Among Open Stars...

by salamanderssmile



Category: Mass Effect
Genre: Apparently a lot of sadness, Blood, Husks being husks, M/M, aka unnecessary assholes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-01-24
Updated: 2015-01-24
Packaged: 2018-03-08 22:47:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3226337
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/salamanderssmile/pseuds/salamanderssmile
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Remember when I said I didn’t make promises to go back? Yeah, I wouldn’t like for this to happen. Would’ve liked to stick around for longer, but the Reapers have others plans."<br/>The mission to repair the turians' com relay where everything goes wrong.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Still Adrift Among Open Stars...

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by this: http://la-chupacabra.tumblr.com/post/23218230651/ . So shoutout to la-chupacabra for great artwork.

They were grounded. Full-stop, ruined-vessel grounded. Reaper troops enclosing from every direction, and not for the first time in his life, Kal'Reegar thought that science-y buildings were not made to be defensible. The engineer of the squad had given his signal already: com relay repaired and functional. They were holding their positions for krogans that probably _could_ take more time to get there, but were nowhere near fast enough. One of the marksmen was lying still in a pool of thick red liquid. Seeing so much blood was odd, foreign; open wounds were a luxury the quarians couldn't afford. Yet. Retaking Rannoch-- dammit, the _geth_ were going to restore their immune system. If they survived the war. Which he probably wasn't going to, not with so many bullet wounds.  
  
“Reegar squad, do you copy?” the intercom on his helmet crackled.  
  
“Kal'Reegar here, copy that.” he answered, shrinking behind cover.  
  
“Has the relay been repaired?” the flanging on the turian's voice was even worth through coms.  
  
“Yes, ma'am, we're holding our ground for the krogan forces.” Kal scanned the area, taking in the sight of his battered and diminished squad. “Ain't going that well, though. I'd tell them to rush before there's none of us left.”  
  
“We can provide evac support, Commander Reegar.” the turian replied, a bit of anxiousness seeping into her voice.  
  
“Nah, we gotta hold this position: can't risk the relay failing. Plus, too many suit punctures.” he breathed out a laugh. “We're all dead anyway, just make them _pay for it_.”  
  
“Commander--” the com went silent for a second. “Copy that, Commander Reegar, I will contact the krogan forces and tell them to make haste. Spirits be with you.”  
  
“Aye. Keelah se'lai, ma'am.” the quarian breathed out with a groan. Wounds _hurt_.  
  
As the com went silent, his focus returned to the battlefield. The situation was degrading – fast. One of the two engineers were dead, three of the four marksmen, and at least half of the soldiers were down. They were at half strength and losing ground steadily. He shot a dozen cannibals, but they kept coming. Then they started sending the husks. _Keelah_ , the husks were the worst. Too many, too quick, and too stupid – ironically, they were the ones that managed to break perimeter. Two of them closed in from the flanks, and before the quarians knew, they were being attacked within melee range. Kal saw the second engineer be grabbed before he himself was. The husk was strong, far more than its frame indicated it could be. It tackled him, pinning the quarian commander to the ground. After trying to bite through his suit, it grabbed his head, banged it mask-first on the wall by their side – not enough to break, but it cracked. Bad. He managed to shrug it off with a forceful push, rolling on top of the thing, burying his omni-blade in its neck. Gooey black liquid splattered his visor, and he tried to clean it, but it was already too cracked for him to see anything useful. He pressed the pressure seals gingerly, taking the mask off. The first gulf of unfiltered air felt like foreign freedom and fear. This was it, he realized, this was really it. He was going to die and there was nothing he could do anymore.  
  
He looked up to the sky through the broken window of the building, everything brighter and clearer. Somewhere out there, the star of his homeworld was shining bright. Somewhere out there, quarian children were running on a planet's soil instead of on the metal of a spaceship. And there, on Rannoch, maybe looking out to the stars, was a jumpy quarian. He risked some shots out of cover, got two cannibals, but his mind strayed back to previous thoughts. Who would be there for the kid, now? _Kid_ , he chuckled sadly, that was no way to call someone you slept with. His team was reduced to three soldiers, including himself, and tactically speaking, he shouldn't stop shooting, but for a dead man, Kal'Reegar was very emotional. So he crouched behind a low wall and activated his omni-tool. The orange glow seemed overly saturated without his visor. With some quick, few keystrokes, the tool was recording.  
  
“Hey, bet it's weird to see my face like this, huh?.” his throat was raw and itchy, the lack of filters getting to him. “Don't got much time, but I figured I had to at least send something. Remember--” he coughed, cleared his throat. “Remember when I said I didn't make promises to go back? Yeah, I wouldn't like for _this_ to happen; I like to think I'm a man of my word. Just... Sorry, I guess. For leaving you behind, I mean. Would've liked to stick around for longer, but the Reapers have others plans. Just-- Damn, this is hard.” he cleared his throat again. “Everything I did was for the quarians, for Rannoch. And for the most important person standing there. Which is you, in case you don't get it. I love you, kid. Damn, that sounded lame. Keelah se'lai, Veetor'Nara. Enjoy the homeworld for me.”  
  
Some clicks later, and it was sent. Kal'Reegar went back to fighting, with his doomed squad of one. He was dead, anyway, just pulling some more of the uglies with him, now.


End file.
